Former Iowa congressman’s fraud case tied to Vegas

Chris Jones

Friday, Feb. 1, 2002 | 10:07 a.m.

A former Iowa congressman awaiting trial on fraud charges has been placed under house arrest -- in part because of his alleged attempts to defraud associates of a Las Vegas resident of as much as $60,000.

Edward Mezvinsky, who represented Iowa on Capitol Hill from 1973 to 1977 and later made unsuccessful bids to become a senator and Iowa attorney general, was indicted in March on charges of bilking various banks, clients and relatives out of more than $10 million from May 1989 to January 2000. In all, he faces 66 fraud counts.

It's his more recent behavior, however, that placed the 65-year-old former congressman in trouble again.

In papers filed Jan. 14 in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia, U.S. Attorney Patrick L. Meehan said that Mezvinsky had engaged in fraudulent activities as recently as mid-January. Meehan sought to revoke Mezvinsky's bail over the alleged misdeeds, but U.S. District Judge Stewart Dalzell on Jan. 24 instead restricted Mezvinsky's approved travels outside the home to religious services, medical and legal visits.

Among several instances of Mezvinsky's purported misconduct were his numerous alleged attempts to defraud acquaintances of a 58-year-old Las Vegas resident.

The woman -- who asked not to be identified -- initially contacted Mezvinsky in mid-December seeking his assistance obtaining a visa for a Chinese businessman she knew through a mutual friend.

Mezvinsky told her he was a current member of Congress, she said. He also said that he and his wife, former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky, D-Pa., are close friends of former President Clinton and his wife, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y.

"He told me that he knew people," the woman said. "He told me a number of times his wife had been a delegate with Hillary Clinton and that (Mezvinsky) and his wife had went over to China with her."

Impressed by Mezvinsky's apparently strong political ties and knowledge of Asia, the woman said she felt Mezvinsky was sincere when he said he could assist her friend in obtaining a visa for a fee of $25,000.

"He said he'd gone through problems like this himself and that he'd be more than willing to get involved," the woman said.

The businessman later declined to pay for the service, but the woman later discussed the matter with a friend who knew of another Chinese individual and family that were trying to obtain permanent residency (green) cards, said the government motion to revoke Mezvinsky's bail. Mezvinsky said he would assist them for fees of $5,000 and $60,000, respectively.

To help finalize the proposed deal, Mezvinsky violated a court order and flew to Las Vegas on Dec. 29, the government alleged.

The woman picked him up at McCarran International Airport and drove him to a local restaurant for a meeting with the Chinese family, who had traveled from Los Angeles for the meeting and later reimbursed Mezvinsky for his air travel to Las Vegas, the woman said.

She later drove him back to the airport for a return flight to Philadelphia later that day.

The woman, who had never previously met Mezvinsky, said he gave no indication of ill intentions during the visit. In fact, she said he charmed her with stories about his children.

"He seemed very normal," she said. " The only thing that stood out was he kissed me on the cheek when I got in the car, like I was a long lost buddy."

The court papers also said Mezvinsky played upon the woman's close relationship to the Chinese businessman, current legal troubles involving her son and her present unemployment to manipulate her in pursuing the deal.

"He took advantage of her circumstances ... (and) promised that his work would help her get back on her feet," Meehan wrote.

Upon his return to Pennsylvania, the court papers said Mezvinsky began to call the woman up to 15 times per day demanding an advance payment of $30,000 on the $60,000 deal.

As recently as Jan. 5, he called her about the $5,000 deal and asked that she function as an administrator, telling her to keep $500 before wiring the remaining funds to his accounts on the East Coast. She said Mezvinsky's constant badgering began to frighten her.

"One night I went to bed hysterically crying because he kept leaving me a lot of intimidating messages on my (home) phone" she said. "It got to the point where I wouldn't answer my (home) phone when I saw his name on the caller identification, but if he couldn't get me on that he'd harass me on my cell phone."

The Chinese individual and family -- who are unnamed in court documents -- grew suspicious of Mezvinsky's insistence on getting the money up front. After a friend of the Las Vegas woman researched his background on the Internet, she learned of his prior indictments and alerted her friends to back out of the proposed deals before any money was sent.

"At first (the Chinese people) we're a little upset with me because I was the one that introduced them to (Mezvinsky)," the woman said. "When (my friend) pulled him up on the computer, I honest to God thought she was kidding.

"The guy really tried to scam me. ... Thank God nobody ever wired him any money and nobody got hurt."

Mezvinsky's attorney, Mark E. Cedrone, filed papers with Dalzell last summer that said he would raise the insanity defense once Mezvinsky's case reaches trial. Prosecutors dismissed those allegations as "iniquitous."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.